How will the Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X jury vote? My predictions

Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X is coming to a close Wednesday, and that means it’s time for a new tradition, if doing things twice counts as a tradition: predicting how the jury will vote, along with RHAP’s Sarah Freeman, who conceived of this madness; Inside Survivor’s Martin Holmes, aka Redmond; and True Dork Times’ Jeff Pitman and his contributors.

Last season, I actually won this competition, but I’m not sure how, and want to lower expectations by again reminding everyone of what I actually wrote at the end of Survivor Micronesia: “there seem to be no plausible scenarios in which Parvati wins the majority of the jury’s votes.”

So let’s start the Jury Jeopardy this year. My predictions follow, and links to their pieces follow mine—and of course, I’d love to know your predictions.

How the Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X jury might vote

The most exciting thing for me is that, going into this finale, all of the final six seem like plausible winners, now that they’ve cleared the table of possible goats. Even Jay, who I wrote off at the beginning of the season, has proven himself to be quite the, um, survivor. And the current jury doesn’t seem especially bitter, with the possible exception of Chris, who seems to be trying to shoot lasers out of his eyes during Tribal Council.

Without the events of the final episode, these predictions are tough, because I think the winner really will be determined based on these final few Tribal Councils.

Thus I have literally no idea how this could go. As I wrote these, I kept talking myself in and out of various scenarios, so it felt like throwing balls at dartboard.

Possible jury members

Half of the final six will end up on the jury, of course, but here are my best guesses as to how each of these people will vote, should they be voted out.

Adam would vote for David, then Jay, followed by Hannah. I’m assuming here that, if Adam makes the jury, he supports the person who’s the most strategically in charge besides himself. And after that, he’d vote based on bonds in the game.

Bret would vote for Jay, then Adam, David. Bret’s sort of been on the outside of most major votes, so if he ends up on the jury, I expect him to give his vote to Jay, who he was long aligned with—and if not Jay, then to a big player he respects.

David would vote Ken, then Adam, Hannah. David and Ken’s game has been aligned since the beginning, so I’m assuming if he gets played and his longtime ally sticks around, Ken locks down David’s vote.

Hannah would vote for Ken, then David, Adam. Although Hannah has Adam to thank for playing his idol, I’m giving Ken and David the slight edge since they were aligned for so long. But I could also see the reverse. (Did I mention this is a total crapshoot?)

Jay would vote for Adam, then Bret. I’m assuming Jay’s bond with Adam is not only real, but that there’s real respect there for his game play (and not because of Adam’s gift of the advantage). That’s why I prioritize him over Bret, who he’s been voting alongside.

Ken would vote for David, then Adam. Ken’s edit confuses me: he goes from hero to jerk, active player to background. He also holds the legacy advantage, which I’m assuming will give him a better chance than not of making the final three—like an advantage in one of the final immunity challenges. So if he does make the jury, I assume he votes for the biggest player he can vote for.

The current jury

Michelle will vote for Ken, then Bret, David, Adam. I have no idea. She was involved in three votes all season, the third of which sent her to the jury unanimously, so I don’t really know where her pre-jury loyalties lie.

Taylor will vote for Jay, then Adam, Hannah If Jay is the final three, Taylor’s vote is going to Jay—they’re an early alliance and bro-bonded. Beyond that, I expect Taylor would support his fellow millennials.

Chris will vote for Bret, then Jay and Ken. Based on his Tribal Council facial expressions, I think Chris may be the most up-for-grabs vote, but will also remember who voted him out. If he can’t vote for the two who didn’t vote to send him home, he’ll look for an outsider, hence Ken.

Jessica will vote for David, then Adam, Ken. I expect Jessica to vote for the biggest player, or the person who makes the best case at the final Tribal Council. And I think these three have the best arguments.

Zeke will vote for David, then Adam, Ken, Hannah. David was sure going after Zeke, but I think Zeke may turn around and recognize that he was played by the season’s biggest behind-the-scenes player.

Will will vote for Jay, then Adam, David. I’m most confident here that Will just wouldn’t vote for Ken to win, and most likely will give his vote to a fellow millennial whose game play he respects, even though they voted him out.

Sunday will vote for Bret, Hannah, David. Sunday was a floater and possible final-three goat, or at least that’s how she was edited. But she was also loyal, and I think Bret gets her vote easily if he makes the final three, even if no one else votes for Bret. Beyond that, who knows?

More Survivor jury vote predictions

Now that you’ve read and judged my predictions, check out the other four Survivor writers’ thoughts:

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association, Andy, 40, directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.